A memory of my seven hours of walking in the dusty roads and hills of Petra, Jordan

The murky political situation in the region did not stop me from visiting Petra. This wasn’t part of my original plan, until I realized after seeing Machu Pichu that Petra holds the key to my long-standing lifetime dream.  I still remember a conversation and consultation I had with my best friend if this trip can be done, and dealt with another ticket reissue.  ‘Sure you can Mich!’ she claimed.

I flew to Amman, the capital of Jordan via Royal Jordanian flight RJ 166, a 60-seater Embraer and so far the best airline of my choice. In the economy class, the lovely and smiling crews offer a 3-meal option (beef, chicken and fish) for any flight over 2 hours. This is akin to a long haul meal option served by other airlines.

Movenpick Hotel was my temporary refuge and made my visit more memorable when I was told upon check in that I have been upgraded to a junior suite.  It certainly put a smile on my face, especially after the 3-hour drive from Amman Queen Alia International Airport.  It wasn’t a scenic drive but as we were approaching to the hotel, a beautiful sunset welcomed my arrival.

After a sumptuous breakfast on the glorious day of Thursday, 2 June, I was so anxious to get out of the hotel.  I was like a little child, feeling excited of what the day brings to me. I left the hotel room at 10 am.

Petra entrance gate was only a 3-minute walk from the hotel.  After a 10-minute walk from the gate, the first scenes that I saw were the rock-cut monuments of Obelisk Tomb and Bab el-Siq Triclinium.  A 7-minute walk later, I saw a signage that eventually directed me to the admirable passage of the Siq (the shaft). I continued walking and admiring the endless scenes of massive size and incredible rock formations in multiple colours.  Soon enough, I sighted a shadow of the façade of Al-Khazna (The Treasury). Al-Khazna, is a rose-pink colored single block of rock and the most impressive rock monument I have ever seen.

I spotted a solo traveler, Constance, whom I kindly asked to take pictures of me. Constance is a Zimbabwean-American, who is currently working in Dubai.  Interestingly after few minutes of conversation, we started to share our stories of how we ended in Petra.  I was surprised of the decision she made of arranging and booking her travel, 6 hours prior to her flight. Being spontaneous and living in the moment is really is a wonderful thing.

We walked together to explore more of the historical site and both dealt with the insistent Bedouin locals inviting us to ride on the donkey. ‘Hello lady, donkey to the Monastery, special price for you.’ ‘No thank you’ I repeatedly replied.  Finally they gave up on us with an ending remark in their English way: ‘Think about, my name is Mohamed, come see me later.’ 

Constance and I continued with our stroll until we got to the Basin Restaurant for a sumptuous buffet lunch for 17 JD.  At the restaurant, we met another solo traveler, Richard, who is also a US resident but working abroad.  Richard became my new travel buddy, as Constance had to leave to return back to Amman.

After sharing my goal for the day with Richard, he managed to twist my arms to walk 850 steps uphill to see the summit of the park, The Monastery.  He took over my camera where he was able to capture every little move and steps I made along the way.

The option of embarking on a donkey ride, or commonly called by the Bedouin locals as ‘Petra’s air-conditioned Cadillac,’ was a common offering to tourists.  Bedouin kids were everywhere. I had a few encounters along the way like cute little Mariana, a 7 year old Bedouin kid dressed in her modern dress, shoeless, and clubby-shaped little feet covered with dust.  She kept speaking in some foreign language and at the same time pulling my bracelet saying ‘give me give me’ and then ran away as soon as she saw her little friend.

Along the way we got to chat with few tourists who encouraged us to keep going – ‘its worth it, once you get up there.’ At 3.30 pm we finally made it to the summit of the park, Al Deir (The Monastery). To reach there we had to makemultiple stops for a drink and ice cream treat from adamant vendors. We were definitely blown away by the scene. It was definitely more dramatic and bigger than The Treasury.  Richard was right; it is not about the number of steps, but the end of the quest.

Opposite from the monument was a coffee shop, where we took some moment to relax and enjoy the view of The Monastery.  Here I met Gabriel from UK, who is studying in Amman, along with her friend.  As a resident international student of Jordan, Gabriel only had to pay 1JD for the entrance fee.  At 4.30 pm, we all decided to start walking back in time for the happy hour from 6-7pm.

Along the way we met another beautiful and innocent looking Bedouin kid, Tama. She has a noticeable mark of scars on her face; evident of the hardships she went through. Tama was wearing a long modest traditional black dress that complemented her gorgeous long hair. I must admit that I am a softy when it comes to beautiful kids. We enjoyed chatting with her. She has a good command of the English language, and surely speaks other languages.  She handed me both her hands and said ‘Come I take you to see the lion and fish’ as she pointed the way.  We climbed up together to get to the passage look out.  We followed her and true enough, we witnessed another hidden area of excavated Petra lying behind another rock:  a figure of the lion and fish curved on the façade of the rock- cut monument.

We then walked back to the pathway where her donkey was waiting. I had the chance to ride the donkey for a photo shoot. And then the funny and suspicious encounter began.  Surprisingly, as I was pulling out my wallet to give her a tip she said ‘Lady no money.’  ‘Okay what can I offer you instead’ I insisted.  ‘Something from your country’ she replied.  I had nothing else but a plastic whistle that I bought from Ecuador.  I pulled it out from my wallet and showed to her how it worked.  At that time, I felt I should give her some tip but she continued to refuse. Instead, she suggested going with her to visit her village. She was a real charmer, and whilst it might sound interesting to do, my immediate gut feeling was to decline her gracious invitation.  When I expressed to her that I couldn’t she then suggested that she needed to get a pair of new shoes. I handed her 5 JD but she explained to me that the shoes costs 10 JD.  I told her to keep the note and start saving until she has enough to afford to buy the pair of shoes.  She then took the note graciously.

As we continued walking, she asked for another favour, this time she wanted an ice cream. That was the breaking moment that I decided to ignore her. And then she started getting into a tantrum and even attempted to return the 5 JD notes I gave to her as well as  the plastic whistle. We continued to ignore her. Suddenly, she ran ahead of us and found a wooden box along the way and acted to place the money on the bench. ‘Lady I don’t want your money,’ and left it on the bench and walked away. As we continued walking and ignoring her, she finally gave up and walked away with the money.

By then, it was already 6 pm, and we still had a good hour to reach the hotel. We were convinced to skip the happy hour.  The last 30 minutes walk to the hotel was the challenging one but it was the stiff drink calling out that pushed me to keep going.  At this time the park pathway was being set up with candles for an evening Petra experience.  At 7.30 pm I made it to the hotel. It was a long 9 hours and 30 minutes day out. I was totally exhausted but the breathtaking memories of that day; the 508 photos and the interesting encounters with the Bedouin kids wrapped up the daylong activity.

On Friday, 3 June at 2 pm I was ready to endure another long drive to Amman Marriott for an overnight stay.  Ibrahim, the driver, spoke better English and managed to negotiate a good price for the scheduled day tour I planned to Jerash and the Dead Sea for the following day.  As a reminder, always shop around for transfers to/from Petra as I was surprised to find out that Movenpick was able to offer a better price.

Security is a big deal in Jordan.  Upon arrival at the hotel, it was a requirement that luggage have to go through the security machine before entering the lobby.  Even inside the park of Petra, security police quarters are widely visible and available so security and safety is highly upheld in this country.

Bassam picked me up at Marriott Hotel at 9 am on Saturday, 4 June, for the scheduled day tour. After a 45-minute drive, we reached our first stop, Jerash, the second most visited ancient Roman ruins in Jordan.  Here you can spend a good hour or 2 to see the entire quarters and its impressive lines of columns.

By 1 pm, we arrived at Amman Tourist Beach and had a buffet lunch and a quick dip to the Dead Sea.  Having been to the Israel side of the Dead Sea, the Jordan side is much more scenic and easily accessible to the hotels’ zone offering a number of luxurious 5-star hotels to choose from.

At 10.30 pm I was back to my secondary home, the airport. After a few hours of wait, my flight was ready to take off to my 40th flight bound for Oman, a Royal land with full of surprises.

© 2012 by Michelle Riel, retains sole copyright to her contributions to all the contents of this site.

On Saturday 27 November, I once again enjoyed a 4hr.16mins scenic Amtrak Service 160 Northeast Regional ride after a brief yet eventful stay in New York during the visit of my friend Carol.

Stonington Connecticut Marina, halfway to Boston, was the most enjoyable and memorable scene I have witnessed. This beautiful town is known for its historic homes by the water, a showground for small boats enthusiasts and lovers of all types of yachts.

I arrived Boston at around 1.30pm and finally got to my hotel, The Marriott Courtyard Downtown/Tremont, after 5 mins cab ride from Amtrak Boston South Station. The hotel supports its neighboring restaurants to deliver to the hotel and you can order online, as high speed Internet is complimentary in the room. That night, I decided to have Chinese food delivered to my room.  If you ever need a late night snack, there is also a small food stand located within the hotel lobby called ‘The Market’.  Another complimentary of the hotel is free breakfast for kids under 12 yo.

Sunday, 28 November, I got myself a city map from the hotel reception and started to explore the city by foot.  The Marriott Courtyard is located in the heart of the Theatre District and is within walking distance to a number of many beautiful iconic spots. I started my walk along Tremont Street heading towards the Waterfront and stopped at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace which houses a number of fun and exciting places to shop and eat. I also enjoyed watching the cruise boats pulling into the Marina Bay as well as the number of planes taking off from the Boston Logan Airport.  It was an afternoon filled with fun and frolic sightseeing.  I went back to my hotel via Atlantic Avenue and on my way;  I decided to pass by Chinatown, which is a few blocks away from the Courtyard.

Boston Chinatown is not as big and crowded as New York and San Francisco. No problem for you to navigate around the block.  It has lots of great authentic food and interesting gift shops.  I decided to have my dinner at a new restaurant located on Beach Street, Bubor Cha Cha, which is an Asian restaurant.  The restaurant’s menu has an overwhelming list of and pages of pictures.  I refrained going through its pages and decided to have a bowl of soup. The serving was huge, so I decided to take the left over back to my hotel room.  The value of food was good but not the best Asian restaurant I have been to.

Monday 29 November, I left the hotel with the intention of walking to the closest T station (subway).  Instead, I decided to walk and take advantage of the beautiful sunny day exploring the neighboring Cambridge District and the university main campuses of Harvard University and MIT across Charles River.  This was a 4-hour entertaining walk from the hotel.

I started my walk through the Public Botanic Garden then through The Esplanade to cross the Longfellow Bridge (also known as the Salt and Pepper Bridge) that connects Beacon Hill, Boston to Kendall Square, Cambridge across Charles River. It also connects to the Marina Drive and Main Street. The Main Street leads you to MIT where I noticed numbers of police cars/bikes, and policemen policing the campus following a woman being assaulted the Friday prior in campus.
I decided to keep walking towards Mass Avenue (short for Massachusetts Avenue) where I stopped at one of the McDonalds for a quick drink before I reached to my final destination – The Harvard University.  OMG – what an institution! I spent another hour strolling and exploring this prestigious campus.

It was 4 pm when my legs were screaming to retire.  So I decided to take the Orange Line using T (subway) to get back to Park Station, the closest station to the hotel.  I walked through Boston Common on the way back to the hotel.  By then, I felt so hungry and decided to stop by for an early dinner at Jacob Wirth Co.

Restaurant, a German friendly and casual restaurant.  I noticed it the other night and was curious of what it has to offer since it looked really busy inside and made me think that the place is good.  I made a safe decision by ordering a small pizza and a glass of wine.  It was just what I needed.  Although I opted to be seated in the corner, I noticed how attentive my waitress was.

I got back to the hotel and noticed a computer with a printer in the lobby available to guests.  I then decided to work on my flight to Columbus for the following day.  I was able to check-in online and pay for my check in baggage.

As a fist time user, I found it very simple and user friendly.  It’s always highly recommended to pay for your check in baggage online, as it is cheaper than paying at the airport. The only feedback I have against US “online baggage checking in system” is that you will be required to log into your email to obtain the receipt for this specific transaction I ended my last night in Boston with a drink at Encore Lounge – a nice cozy little bar at Courtyard hotel lobby. Encore Lounge has a live band entertainment that starts at 9pm.

The band usually consists of a drummer, guitarist and a pianist. That night, 3 singers from the audience performed with the band.

These local talents perform in different bars, but every now and then they have a reunion in this bar to share each other’s talents.  The three singers each sang a Christmas song – Oh! I suddenly felt homesick!  Two members of the band are relatively young – more or less in their late teens.  Tyler, the base player and Danny, the drummer.  Danny is about to launch his first CD the following Friday which covers pop/country/blues music.

That evening I met Ilene.  Ilene is of Turkish heritage and preparing to get into law school at the Harvard University. We were also joined by Jim & Rick who are both in Boston for a business trip.  Jean, one of the local talents and originally from Singapore, also joined us.  She was the designated lyrics online searcher of the night.  She would surf from her mobile when they don’t know or not familiar with the lyrics of the song requested by the spectators – where would you be without Google, right?  Steve Heck, the lead member of the band, was not just a talented musician but also a respected Professor from the UC Berkley School of Music.  He holds a room, in the College of Music, named after him.  The last performance they rendered was my requested song – ‘My Eyes Adored You.’ And I would say that Heck’s version was definitely better than Frankie Vallis.

My flight on 30th November was scheduled to depart at 3.30pm. A day prior to this departure, I arranged my shuttle transfer and pick up at 2pm, with the hotel concierge, for a 2 hour extra time and use this to see more of Boston.

Acorn Street, most photographed street on Beacon Hill

Newbury Street

Trinity Church

I was lucky that it was a nice and crispy morning.  I decided to spend my two hours walking around Copley Plaza where Trinity Church is located. Trinity is considered as one of the best architectural masterpieces of America and the most visited church in the US.  From here, I walked towards Newbury Street and then to the famous Beacon Hill where you will find some gorgeous historic homes built along the picturesque cobblestoned streets.

This place is definitely Boston’s hidden gem, and a place where I would love to live in. Newbury Street is the Rodeo Drive district of Boston. It’s where you will find boutiques showcasing lines of high-end designers.

I like the energy of Boston, not only the fact that it’s a university belt but Bostonians in general are very friendly and helpful which made it easy for me to approach someone for directions.

I closed my two-hour time with a quick lunch in a nearby Chinese Restaurant, Shanghai Restaurant, before I headed down to the airport to catch my flight for Columbus.

When in US, I am convinced that train is my preferred corridor to the neighboring US/Canadian cities.  The check-in process is less complicated:  no long queues and wait. You definitely won’t get into the trouble and discomfort of taking off your shoes, removing your belt and pulling out your laptop, etc, and most of all no travel delays.

Boston to Columbus via Philadelphia marked my first delayed flight.  The first leg of my flight arrived late in Philadelphia, which only gave me 7 minutes to transfer from Terminal B10 to B2 to catch my connecting flight US3359.  After all the hassles and stress to make it on time for my connecting flight, the moment I seated comfortably on the aircraft it was announced that my connecting flight is delayed for another hour. US3359 had a GPS alignment problem where the system has to be shut down for at least 5mins to work on it.

Further delayed was experienced for a good hour at the gate since 7pm is the busiest time for flight departures in PHL. By the time UA3359 was ready to take off, our aircraft was on No.9 in line.

Regular updates were announced and the only thing provided to pacify the passengers was free water.  The good thing about all these delays was the ample time for my luggage to be transferred to my connecting flight.

I finally arrived in Columbus at 9.10pm. My first day, 1 December, was memorable, as I witnessed the snowfalls outside my Auntie & Uncle’s house. The snow painted an image of an old fashion Christmas scenes that I normally see on Christmas cards and postcards – beautiful houses on the lakes with snow coating their rooftops and in front of the gardens.  My visit in Columbus was very much up lifting.  My Uncle Basil, who’s the older brother of my father, holds the key to my father’s side family history and his childhood.  And my Auntie Fe (who also happens to be my god mother) has a special place in my heart since my childhood life.  I am very grateful for their unsurpassed hospitality, love, support, dignity, value and generosity.  And to top it all for sharing with me their simple but happy senior life and for proudly introducing me to their gazillion friends.

I also had the opportunity to attend my Uncle & Auntie’s organ group Christmas lunch get together where they had ‘Seth Rye,’ a well know organist based in Florida, performed at the event. I was also fortunate to experience the endless house parties, where authentic Filipino dishes, which I haven’t tasted for a long time, were served as the main course and dishes.

My memory of my second visit in Columbus will remain in my heart and has painted a special part of my trip.

Comments courtesy of etravelblackboard.com

© 2012 by Michelle Riel, retains sole copyright to her contributions to all the contents of this site.